Many cancer patients whose lives could be saved or extended by radiation therapy are choosing not to have it - because it's not available where they live and they don't want the expense and stress of travelling for treatment.
The government says that will soon change. It announced on Sunday that over the next three years it will replace several aging radiation machines, and for the first time make radiation treatment available in Taranaki, Hawke's Bay and Northland.
National calls the announcement "rushed and underwhelming", and says cancer sufferers would have been expecting a lot more.
Political reporter Yvette McCullough has the story.
